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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29279574">back when we were still changing for the better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cwalters/pseuds/cwalters'>cwalters</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Folk of the Air - Holly Black</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Student government, bisexual cardan greenbriar, bisexual jude duarte, cardan does not have a tail, honestly this is just fun for me to write</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:33:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29279574</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cwalters/pseuds/cwalters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Honestly, there’s no particular reason for Jude Duarte to dislike Cardan Greenbriar. He just infuriates her. If she had to make a list though, his attitude would probably be at the top of it. </p>
<p>Or, the one in which Jude and Cardan run against each other for student body president.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. chapter one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>for abby, lottie, and fer, of course.</p><p>you can find me on twitter @iivrigos!</p><p>also, major shoutout to lottie (@lottielotsoff on twt and lottielotsof on here) for constantly editing this and forcing me to write. appreciate you endlessly.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Honestly, there’s no particular reason for Jude Duarte to dislike Cardan Greenbriar. He just infuriates her. If she had to make a list though, his attitude would probably be at the top of it. She hates the fact that he walks around like he’s king of the world just because his dad is on the board of directors for Elfhame University. She hates the fact that he can get away with doing whatever he wants whenever he wants, without the threat of any consequences looming over him. Jude hates their feud (which isn’t even a feud anymore! She’s just tired of only being known as the girl who threw water on Cardan, and not as the founder of her club), and she especially hates the fact that despite all of this she still thinks he’s attractive. But sue her, it’s a fact of life at this point. Anyone with eyes agrees with her. Like, maybe she had a tiny crush on him at one point. The smallest of all crushes. Miniscule, in Jude’s eyes. And really, Jude’s pretty sure it’s just because she thinks he’s beautiful (not hot or handsome, <i>beautiful</i>). His personality ruined every other aspect of himself in her eyes (it’s not that bad. Cardan’s just an ass to her, but he’s decent to everyone else. Jude doesn’t even try to understand him anymore). </p><p>Don’t even get her started on their feud, though. Maybe Jude could’ve been nicer to him when they got paired together for a group project freshman year, but he was (and still is) an asshole. Jude still vividly remembers the way he “accidentally” deleted all of the work she did just so she would have to redo it, and she still laughs at how pissed off he got when she would consistently show up 10 minutes late just to see him squirm. Either way, they don’t like each other. Cardan takes any chance to annoy her, and Jude gives it back to him just as good as she gets. She doesn’t know why Cardan hates her so much, but she barely knows why she hates him herself. What she does know with certainty is that she will never be the first one to surrender. </p><p>-</p><p>Jude drops down in the seat across from her twin sister and flings her backpack in the chair next to her with an overdramatic sigh. </p><p>“Is everything okay?” Taryn asks cautiously. Everyone on campus knows how snippy Jude can get when she’s in a bad mood. </p><p>“I’m exhausted. I had to open at work and then immediately go to my stupid class with my stupid professor who doesn’t teach us anything! And of course I had to see Cardan when I was running to the elevator and he didn’t even hold the fucking door so I was late to class and Professor Mog bitched me out and I already know I’m gonna be up late again teaching myself the material and I don’t even have time for this! I just -” Jude cuts herself off, taking a deep breath. “I just can’t fail this class.” Jude knows she’s being dramatic, but god, she feels like she can’t catch a break. </p><p>Taryn glances at Vivi, who’s silently laughing next to her, as they’re both used to Jude’s rants. Vivi slides her energy drink across the table to her sister, who looks like she needs it more than either of them combined. Jude grabs the drink and chugs it, finishing it off in less than ten seconds, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand when she’s done. </p><p>“Okay,” she starts. “I think I’ll survive the day now.” Jude cracks her knuckles and grabs her tote bag, ready to grab her notes and reteach herself the lesson when Vivi interrupts her. </p><p>“Hey, so you know how student government elections are coming up?”</p><p>“Yeah, but what about them?” Jude didn’t have time to think about anything besides passing her economics class. It was the last general education class she needed, and she was barely scraping by. She had put it off until her junior year because she absolutely hated math, but she had to take it before she could complete any other classes for her major. </p><p>“I think you should run for President,” announces Vivi. “Think about it - you need some resume boosters for grad school, and this would show Madoc you take college seriously. I personally couldn’t give less of a fuck about what he thinks, but I know you care about his opinion for some unknown reason.” Jude shoots her a look, silently asking <i>why the fuck do you think I would be good at that?</i> “And honestly, you’re kind of popular here. Everyone either knows you or knows of you. This way, you could bring more awareness to the GSA and all of the other underfunded clubs and activities you’re always bitching about.” </p><p>“People know me because of Cardan.” Jude has to push her anger at the thought of him down. “I don’t wanna be known for our, well, feud. And I don’t bitch about things, I just have strong opinions. Instead of giving all of the money to the fucking football team, maybe the board could actually try and support some of the other things people are involved in. Like, only 75 people are on the football team compared to how many students go here? It’s fucking unfair.” </p><p>“And you already have a campaign speech,” Vivi exclaims, throwing her hands up excitedly. She knew Jude would get fired up about this. “You quite literally proved my main point here - you’re excited about this, you clearly love the idea, and you don’t take anyone’s shit!” </p><p>Jude rolls her eyes. Vivi wasn’t wrong in any sense, but she didn’t want to commit to anything without actually understanding what she was getting herself into. </p><p>“Before you shoot her down,” Taryn interjects, “just think about it. This could be your way of being known for what you’ve done, and it could be fun, too! I think Liliver and Garrett are signing up to be representatives, and they’re like, your only other friends on campus.” </p><p>“Not true! I have friends,” Jude begins. “I have you guys, and Heather, and…” she trails off.  “Anyways,” she shakes her head. “I don’t even have the time for it. I have so much other shit on my plate with the coffee shop and classes. I wouldn’t be a good president in any way.”</p><p>“Did you already forget what you just said? You have so many ideas, like the fundraisers that you want to implement, and you even started Elfhame’s GSA club. That has to count for something in your mind.” Taryn knew Jude didn’t think she was capable of doing, well, anything important. Their stepfather, Madoc, was constantly putting Jude down and making sure she knew she should be doing better at anything and everything - she should have a better job, be top of her class, rule the fucking world. She doesn’t know how she can please him. </p><p>Jude rolls her eyes, but the idea is already growing on her. Now that she thinks about it, she’s not necessarily opposed to the idea of running for president, and it’s kind of tempting to think of Madoc getting off her back. She already has ideas to improve campus spinning in her head. Plus, she’s not totally against the idea of having her name said around school without Cardan’s being automatically added to it. She thinks about it for a minute, weighing the pros and cons in her head silently. Really, the only thing holding her back was her work schedule and her economics class, but she could get a tutor for econ and move some shifts around - she was never late to work, so her manager always helped her when Jude really needed it. </p><p>“So what do you even get out of this if I run? Why not just do it yourself?” Jude asks Vivi while cracking open her water bottle. </p><p>“Um, first of all, I don’t want to. Second, everybody knows you. You’re kind of famous around here. Third, you would actually be good at the job, <i>and</i> I think you would enjoy it. Also, Madoc is obsessed with me. I have nothing to prove to him, <i>but</i>, when you win, I’m expecting my dearest sister to petition the board to raise funding for the arts program. We need new supplies, and the board won’t fucking listen to the students, but maybe they’ll listen to a kick-ass student government president.” Vivi explains to her sister, clasping her hands on the table in front of her. She leans forward and meets Jude’s eyes, and Taryn nods her head beside her. They can both tell they’re close to showing Jude how good she would be. </p><p>“Honestly? I think I would enjoy it. It’s kind of scary thinking about the concept of running, but like, nobody even pays attention to the election until someone wins.” Jude looks away from Vivi to twist the cap back on her water bottle. She moves to grab her laptop out of her tote bag. “It’s just nerve wracking, you know? Like what if I do all this only to do a shitty job and for everyone to hate me?” </p><p>Vivi sighs. “You’ve done the whole ‘woe is me’ spiel already. Come up with a new excuse. You <i>just<i> said you would enjoy it, so what exactly are you waiting on now? We could go tomorrow to sign you up. Besides, there’s literally no way you can do a bad job. Just don’t get in any scandals and nobody will pay attention to you.” </i></i></p><p>
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</p><p>“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jude scoffs out. “I’ll think about it, seriously this time. I’ll let you know in like two days, max. Can we study now? I have absolute no fucking clue what Mog talked about in economics and we have a test soon.” Jude looks back down at her notebooks, before snapping her head up, staring at her sister with suspicious eyes. “Gimme a couple of days before you go signing me up for anything, though,” Jude says, pointing an accusing finger at Vivi. “Don’t do anything until I tell you, yeah?” </p><p>Vivi raises her hands innocently, but the mischievous twinkle in her eyes tells Jude she had correctly guessed her game. Taryn looks between her two sisters and laughs, softly shaking her head as she opens up her own books so they could actually begin studying.</p><p>-</p><p>After a couple of days of deliberation, Jude finally decides she wants to run for president.<br/>
Honestly, it’s not <i>that</i> much of a time commitment, especially if nobody runs against her, and she really does want to show Madoc she’s good at something. </p><p>She sighs and pulls out her phone to text Vivi. <i>ok im gonna do it</i>, Jude quickly hits send on the text before she can talk herself out of it, not even bothering to clarify what she means. She knows her sister will understand.</p><p><i>r u serious</i>, Vivi shoots back almost immediately. <i>u better not be fucking with me.</i> </p><p>
  <i>100% serious. do u wanna meet me at the admin office in 10 so i can sign up?</i>
</p><p><i>you better be there or ill drag u out of bed!!</i> Vivi adds about 10 emojis to that text, and half of them consist of the knife emoji. Jude just laughs and throws her phone on her bed so she can get dressed.</p><p>Once she’s dressed, she grabs her phone and keys from the hook by her door and locks the door as she leaves. Jude takes the shortcut she discovered freshman year and when she gets to the administration offices, she’s not surprised to see that she’s beaten her sister there. </p><p>As Jude walks into the building, she scans once more for her sister. Not seeing her, Jude sits down on a bench next to the sign-up sheet and pulls her phone out. Mindlessly scrolling through her Instagram feed, she doesn’t even notice when the cushion next to her sinks with the weight of another person. </p><p>Vivi pokes Jude in the shoulder. “C’mon, you better go sign up before you chicken out.”</p><p>“I wasn’t gonna chicken out,” Jude huffs and pokes her sister twice, just to get her back. “I just needed a couple days to make sure I was even gonna run. But that doesn’t matter anymore, I’m gonna kick this election’s ass,” she exclaims, putting her phone in her pocket. She’s not necessarily excited for the process of campaigning, but she’s pretty sure she’ll be the only candidate who actually has a platform. </p><p>The sign-up sheet is completely empty, which is only a little surprising to Jude. She wasn’t expecting people to be jumping at the seams to run for president, but c’mon, not even one other name? </p><p>Jude grabs the pen attached to the sign -up sheet and starts to sign her name on the form. She sticks out her tongue, trying her best to make the letters in readable loops instead of the shit handwriting she usually has. Suddenly, Vivi pulls out her phone. “Smile!” Vivi quickly snaps a picture of Jude looking completely caught off guard. “That’s one for the photo books.” </p><p>Jude snatches the phone out of her sister’s hand and lightly smacks her in the arm. “You’re deleting that picture immediately or I will hunt you down when you least expect it and delete every single item off of your phone until all you have is a block of plastic.” </p><p>“Okay, dramatic much? Just finish writing your name.” </p><p>She quickly finishes signing her name and turns on her heels to exit the building, but out of the corner of her eye she hears a familiar voice.</p><p>“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. We gotta go <i>right now.</i>” Jude grabs Vivi’s arm and starts to drag her towards the doors.</p><p>Vivi takes one glance around the building and mutters, “Oh shit. I don’t have the energy to deal with this today.” Vivi grabs their bags off the bench and makes a beeline to the door, but their path is blocked by two bodies. </p><p>“And to what do we owe this pleasure?”</p><p>Jude would say she’s surprised to hear Cardan Greenbriar’s voice asking her that question, but after knowing him for two years, she really doesn’t think he could do anything to surprise her. At this point, she’s just praying he’s going anywhere else than the student government election sign-up sheet. </p><p>Jude offers up a quick prayer to any higher being that’s listening to her and shallowly answers him. “We were just leaving. If you don’t mind, you should move the fuck over so I don’t have to breathe your cologne in anymore.” </p><p>“You don’t want to watch me sign up for student body president? After all, in just a few short weeks, I’ll be able to boss you around again.” Cardan smirks at her and crosses his arms, all while Jude is giving him and his companion, Locke, a death glare. She’s manifesting all of her energy into murdering him with her eyes. </p><p><i>This cannot be happening</i>, Jude thinks to herself. <i>The one fucking thing I was actually excited to do, and Cardan of all people shows up. There couldn’t have been anyone else’s name on the piece of paper?</i> She lets out the biggest sigh and runs a hand through her hair, showcasing her annoyance with Cardan. </p><p>Cardan quickly realizes why Jude is so annoyed after he takes one look at the sign-up form. “You’re not running. Why would you be running?”</p><p>“Me? Why would <i>you</i> be running?” Jude fires back at him. “Maybe I have actual ideas about how to help the students here? Take your name off the paper, Cardan.” She moves to grab the pen and scratch his name out, but he quickly steps in front of her and blocks his path. He snatches the pen out of her grasp and holds it above his head. Jude tries to jump up and grab it, but he moves it higher each time. </p><p>“God <i>damn</i> it, Cardan! This isn’t funny. I genuinely want to run and nobody will take this election seriously if you just come in and make a joke of it!” Jude huffs out, attempting to reach the pen one final time. </p><p>“Why do you automatically assume this is a joke to him?” Locke interjects. “He’s actually been thinking about this for a few days now. It’s not just a spur of the moment, ‘let me fuck with Jude’ type of decision.” </p><p>“Because I know him,” Jude deadpans. She narrows her eyes at Cardan. “You have an ulterior motive, I just don’t know what it is yet. Vivi and I will find it soon enough though, so watch your back. I won’t let you fuck this up for me.” </p><p>“You truly think so little of me?”</p><p>“Yeah. I do.” Jude grabs her bag and stalks out of the building, Vivi following closely behind. She looks back over her shoulder and tosses out a final “Prepare to lose, Greenbriar,” as she pushes open the double doors.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. chapter two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There’s just no way Cardan <i>actually</i> wants to run for president. He had to have found out about me running and decided he wanted to screw with me,” Jude exclaims, leaning back on her sister’s couch and throwing her hands up in exasperation. It’s Friday afternoon, and Jude spends her time after class at Vivi’s off-campus apartment. If anyone asks her, she’ll say they do homework together, but really, they’re really just binging trashy reality TV shows. </p>
<p>Vivi sighs and attempts to calm her sister down. “I don’t know, Jude. He looked pretty serious about it.” </p>
<p>Jude hates that Vivi’s probably right, but she’s holding on to the thought of him dropping out like a lifeline. She can’t imagine why Cardan of all people would want to run for president. He has everything he needs already: he has a good relationship with his dad (who’s on the university board, loves his son, and he even has weekly lunches scheduled with Cardan!), everyone is obsessed with him, <i>and</i> he’s a shoo-in for any graduate school programs he would want to apply for. Jude, on the other hand, has none of that. No dad who can pull strings, no adoring fan club, and she’s definitely not guaranteed any spots when she’s pretty sure she can barely pass her economics class. She needs this, and she’s decided she’ll be damned if she lets him beat her. </p>
<p>“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Jude exhales. </p>
<p>“When has anything he’s done ever made sense to you? Plus, it doesn’t matter that he’s running - you’re so much more qualified than him <i>and</i> your ideas are better than his. Probably. I don’t know his platform.” Vivi stands up and moves towards the kitchen. “Did you want anything to drink?” </p>
<p>“Yeah, a fucking margarita.”</p>
<p>“It’s 4 pm, weirdo.” Jude’s sister gives her a pointed look. “How about you save the drowning your sorrows with alcohol until <i>at least</i> 5 pm?” she calls from the sink, where she’s filling up two glasses of water. Vivi returns a few moments later and goes to set the glasses down on the coffee table when she notices the look on Jude’s face.</p>
<p>“Oh no,” Vivi begins. “What’s with that look on your face?”</p>
<p>“What look?” Jude sweetly replies. “I’m simply thinking of ways to drown my sorrows with free alcohol after <i>at least</i> 5 pm.” The look on Jude’s face tells her sister otherwise - Jude is notorious for ideas that seem good in the moment, but ultimately end up with one of them regretting their decisions. “Do you think Taryn knows of any party happening tonight?” Jude asks innocently, but Vivi sees right through her. </p>
<p>Living on campus ensures that frat parties, complete with their copious amounts booze and endless supply of people for Jude to flirt with, are a common occurrence on Friday nights, and Jude is confident that her twin sister with her pretty hair and sweet words will know of at least three different parties going on tonight and that she’d be able to get them into their choice of fraternity house for free. </p>
<p>“Whatever you’re thinking of, it’s a bad idea.” </p>
<p>Jude rolls her eyes. “I just want to forget all about Cardan Greenbriar. And I’ll need the help of my good friend tequila to do it.” She shoots off a quick text to Taryn and reaches out to grab her water. When Vivi still looks at her with unsure eyes, Jude says, “Come on, it’s either that or punching him in the face.” </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Two hours later, Jude and Vivi have somehow found themselves in Taryn’s bedroom putting the finishing touches on their outfits for the night. Jude finishes tying the laces on her Doc Martens and stands up, brushing her hands on her thighs as she exclaims, “who else is ready to get absolutely trashed tonight?”</p>
<p>“Okay, you are way too excited about a frat party,” Taryn gives Jude a side eyed glance and continues applying her mascara. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister? Last time I dragged you to Delta Psi you threatened to disown me.”</p>
<p>Jude scoffs and stands next to her twin, leaning her head on Taryn’s shoulder . “I just want to have a good time tonight! We haven’t all gone out in <i>forever</i>. Dancing with my sisters is exactly what I need,” Jude picks her head up to grab the mascara wand from her sister and quickly swipes it over her own eyelashes. “But seriously, I feel like we’ve been getting ready for hours, and we haven’t even pregamed!” </p>
<p>“You can’t apply eyeliner when you’re tipsy.” </p>
<p>“Not with that attitude you can’t.” </p>
<p>Vivi comes up behind them and raises her eyebrows at her sisters in the mirror, holding a bottle of tequila beside her. “Let’s try it out, then,” she says, grabbing three shot glasses from the vanity where they sat, still there from the last time they pregamed together. The shot glasses were embellished with different pictures of frogs, and Vivi hands Jude her favorite one - a frog wearing a cowboy hat. Jude smiles at the glass, fondly remembering when they bought the glasses together. They quickly down the shots, all three sisters making faces at the burning sensation moving down their throats. </p>
<p>“So,” Jude quickly shakes her head to get rid of the aftertaste, “are you two ready to go now?” She clasps her hands together under her chin and smiles at the pair in front of her. “Because I’m ready to dance my ass off,” she says, slightly feeling the effects from the alcohol buzzing in her blood.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>When their Uber arrives at the fraternity house, Jude looks up from her phone and stares at the letters above the door. She immediately recognizes the Greek letters as Pi Kappa Phi, otherwise known as the fraternity Cardan is a part of. “Oh no. There’s absolutely no way I’m going into that house. Cardan fucking <i>lives</i> there. What the hell, T?” </p>
<p>“You want free alcohol, right? Well here I am, providing it to you. Locke told me if we came here tonight instead of down the street that he would get us wristbands for free,” Taryn attempts to convince Jude, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the line to get in. </p>
<p>“I’m disowning you.”</p>
<p>Taryn rolls her eyes, walking purposefully, tugging Jude and her dragging feet along. “You say that every time.”</p>
<p>Knowing her sister won’t take no for an answer, Jude rolls her eyes and curtly responds. “Fine, but don’t expect me to interact with Cardan <i>or</i> Locke. If I see either of them I’m turning the other way.” </p>
<p>Vivi snorts. “As long as you don’t punch them.” </p>
<p>Taryn throws her sister a furious stare, whisper-yelling, “Don’t give her ideas.”</p>
<p>After only a few short moments, they reach the front of the line, and Taryn pushes up onto the balls of her feet to whisper what Jude can only assume is a password of sorts into the bouncer’s (who’s really just a freshman pledge the fraternity brothers are forcing to stay sober for the night) ear. Vivi stifles a laugh behind her hand, and Jude can’t help but do the same. “It's a frat party, not the White House,” whispers Jude. </p>
<p>Vivi puts an arm around Jude’s shoulder and says to Jude, “just come inside already. The faster you get in there, the faster we can beat someone’s ass at pong.” </p>
<p>Jude gives her an unamused glare, but lets out a sigh and reluctantly follows her older sister. She’s not mad they’re at the fraternity house Cardan and Locke are part of, because she knows that since Taryn and Locke are dating, she’ll have to interact with both of them, but Jude wishes she had at least some kind of a warning. Like, nobody wanted to even give her a courtesy heads up so she could prepare herself? Jude thinks about how the shot she took earlier has worn off, and realizes she doesn’t care anymore - the prospect of potentially seeing Cardan isn’t going to ruin her night of free drinks. </p>
<p>Walking into the house, Jude is hit with everything she expected to be hit with: loud music, strobe lights, too many people shoved into a small area, and an overwhelming smell of body odor. She doesn’t care though. This is exactly what she was hoping to get out of the night. </p>
<p>“I’m going to find Locke,” Taryn shouts over the pulsating music - Jude’s thinking she’ll be lucky if her ears aren’t ringing for hours after she leaves. </p>
<p>Jude has to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at Taryn’s statement - she’s never been the biggest fan of Locke, and she’ll be the first one to shout it out. Locke being Cardan’s best friend certainly doesn’t help his case, but he’s also notorious for being one of the campus fuckboys. Jude is always looking out for her sister, and her gut feeling tells her that Locke won’t be good for Taryn. She’s tried to express her thoughts to her before, but Taryn is too stubborn to listen.</p>
<p>“Okay, just keep your phone on you!” Jude shouts back. “Text if you leave or if you need anything - I’m gonna get a drink.” Jude grabs Vivi’s hand and moves towards the kitchen, throwing one more look over her shoulder at her twin before seeing her long, dark hair disappear into the crowd filling the living room. </p>
<p>Jude has to fight the horde in the hallway just to make it to the kitchen island that’s doubling as a bar, and maybe she steps on a few too many people’s feet, but they make it to the counter in one piece, and that’s all she cares about. She lets go of Vivi’s hand and grabs two plastic cups, quickly making them drinks that are way too strong for a normal person, but the Duarte sisters have been to too many of these parties to know that they need to make their drink stronger to prevent continually fighting their way back to the bar. </p>
<p>Vivi takes a sip of the drink Jude handed her and almost spits it back up. “This is worse than lighter fluid.”</p>
<p>“It’ll get the job done quicker!” Jude smiles at her sister, swiftly bringing her cup to her lips and taking a sip that’s easily half of the cup. “You can always add more lemonade to it.” </p>
<p>“No, it’s fine,” Vivi shudders, but takes another quick drink. “But if I blackout, I’m blaming you.”</p>
<p>“And I solemnly swear to accept all responsibility for your actions.” Jude holds her cup close to her chest in one hand and attempts to push Vivi back towards the living room with her free hand. As the pair of sisters make their way back to the living room, Vivi pokes Jude’s arm and points to the empty beer pong table, silently asking if she wants to play. Jude nods her head enthusiastically and rushes over to the table, ready to stake her claim as the reigning beer pong champion. </p>
<p>Jude and Vivi claim their side of the table and easily set up the solo cups - something they’ve done too many times to count. Every time that they attend a party together, for some unknown reason, their pong skills are heightened. As they’re setting up the table, a couple that neither sister has met before declares the opposite side of the table as their own, and within 5 minutes, Jude and Taryn have already beaten them. They play only two more games, and after they win their third game in a row, Jude decides she needs another drink. </p>
<p>As Jude is grabbing her empty cup and getting ready to go make herself another drink (that’s way too strong), she spots Taryn and Locke heading towards her. </p>
<p>“Please tell me you’re not leaving this table when I was coming over here to challenge you,” Taryn says, putting an arm out to stop Jude from leaving. </p>
<p>“Well I <i>was</i> going to get another drink, but I’ll gladly wait if it means I can beat your ass at pong again.”</p>
<p>Locke scoffs. “You forget that almost every time we play, I end up winning.” </p>
<p>“Barely!” Jude retorts, almost cutting him off. “The last time we played shouldn’t count, someone ran into me and made me throw the ball too soon.”</p>
<p>“Excuses, excuses,” Cardan interrupts from behind Locke. Jude didn’t notice he was standing there until he spoke up, but she rolls her eyes at his statement. “Maybe you’re just not good.” </p>
<p>“Maybe you’ve just never played against me before.” </p>
<p>“Is that a challenge?”</p>
<p>“Unless you’re scared. Vivi and I <i>are</i> known to be the reigning champs.” Jude mimes taking a crown off of her head and placing it onto her older sister’s. Vivi just stares Cardan dead in the eyes and shrugs. “It’s up to you if you wanna suffer the humiliation of losing, Greenbriar.” </p>
<p>“I don’t lose, Duarte.” Cardan raises an eyebrow at Jude and takes his place next to Locke, accepting Jude’s challenge. </p>
<p>“Seriously? I come over to play and end up watching on the sidelines?” Taryn jokingly complains, crossing her arms across her chest in mock annoyance. </p>
<p>“You can’t act surprised that this happened, sis. We all know how these two get,” Vivi informs her, gesturing at Jude and Cardan. </p>
<p>“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”</p>
<p>“Um, that you two are literally the most competitive people I’ve ever met? And I’m including myself in that.” </p>
<p>Jude just shakes her head - she knows Vivi isn’t wrong. “Whatever, can we just play? I need another drink, and the sooner I beat your asses the sooner I can get one.” </p>
<p>“I was actually gonna head to the kitchen, I can make you another one if you want me to,” Taryn has to raise her voice for Jude to hear her over the music. It takes Jude a second to recognize what she’s said, but once it registers she nods her head enthusiastically. </p>
<p>“As long as it’s strong, I don’t care what you put in it!” Jude shouts back. </p>
<p>Jude turns to face Cardan and dramatically cracks her knuckles. Sure, she’s always been competitive, but playing against him just increases her desire to win. They quickly run through the rules, and Jude looks Cardan in the eyes and takes her shot to decide who goes first. Her ball lands in the center cup easily, and she winks at Cardan once she hears the <i>splash</i> of the beer. </p>
<p>“That was luck.” Cardan shakes his head in disbelief, causing a loud laugh to escape Jude’s lips.</p>
<p>“Keep telling yourself that, nerd.” </p>
<p>“You stoop so low as to insult me?” </p>
<p>“I can stoop even lower. Now drink up, buttercup.”</p>
<p>Cardan quickly chugs what’s in his cup and returns the shot, with the ball hitting the rim of a cup and bouncing off. Vivi and Jude high-five, not bothering to hide their excitement at him missing. The older sister tosses the plastic ball towards Locke and Cardan’s side of the table and makes it in without so much as a bounce on the table. She shrugs. At this point, Jude’s feeling confident (and tipsy) they’re going to win this game, so when her next turn comes around, she takes the shot with Vivi’s hands covering her eyes. To the surprise of no one, she makes the shot.</p>
<p>Jude curtsies. “How does humiliation taste, Greenbriar? Can’t say I’ve ever known.”</p>
<p>“You’re about to when I absolutely butcher you in the election.” </p>
<p>“The only way you’d butcher me is if you bring a knife.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t tempt me.” He moves out from behind the makeshift pong table and takes a step towards Jude.</p>
<p>“Don’t make me draw my sword.” Jude inches towards Cardan, never breaking eye contact. Everyone within a five-foot radius of the table can feel the tension radiating off of the pair. </p>
<p>“Once again asking why you bring a sword on campus every semester?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jude sends him a teasing wink and his jaw clenches, his hand closing tightly around the ball. “Just make your shot, loser.” </p>
<p>“Not to interrupt this weird flirting thing you two have going on,” Locke interjects, flitting his eyes between the pair, “but I haven’t seen Taryn in, like, ten minutes. I’m gonna go find her.”  </p>
<p>“Wait, what? I can’t play by myself,” Cardan protests in the hopes that he can convince his partner to stay. </p>
<p>“Do I hear a forfeit?” Vivi asks, batting her eyelashes.</p>
<p>“No! I just need to find a new partner.” Cardan scans the room to no avail. Everyone is suddenly very invested in their conversations rather than the game they’d been so intrigued by. Jude beams when she realizes that none of them want to be defeated by her and her sister.</p>
<p>Cardan sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It causes me the utmost amount of pain to say this to you, Jude, but I think we’re going to have to pause this game.”</p>
<p>“You mean you’re forfeiting?”</p>
<p>“Pausing,” he tries to correct. </p>
<p>“No, I’m hearing the word <i>forfeit</i> come out of your mouth.”</p>
<p>“Then you’re deaf.”</p>
<p>“Or you don’t want to admit that I’m right. The rules we play by clearly state you need a partner,” Jude shrugs. “If you can’t find one, well…” </p>
<p>Vivi slings an arm around Jude’s shoulders and mimes holding a microphone in front of her younger sister’s face. “We have breaking news, ladies and gentlemen of the Pi Kap house! My dear sister and I have just defeated, yes, <i>defeated</i> your fraternity president Cardan Greenbriar at beer pong, and I must admit, it was crushing. Like, embarrassingly crushing.” </p>
<p>Jude laughs. Like, belly laughs. She’s tipsy and just won a beer pong game against Cardan and her sister is with her and she feels better than she’s felt in a while. She doesn’t feel like anything can bring her down from the happiness she’s feeling right now. </p>
<p>“Hey, I think I’m gonna go find Heather. Are you cool by yourself for a minute?” Vivi nudges her sister, reading her face to make sure Jude doesn’t mind.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Jude replies. It’s not like she’d <i>really</i> be alone. Cardan’s there, and plus, Jude’s certain she can find someone else to talk to if Vivi takes forever. But honestly, she doesn’t mind just standing and people watching while she waits for her sister and girlfriend. She’s always loved it. </p>
<p>Jude watches Vivi leave the living room and sighs, realizing Taryn never came back with the drink she promised her. She notices there’s another small bar area set up in the corner and makes her away there, pushing through the throng of people. Jude quickly grabs a cup and notices there’s only vodka left, but shrugs her shoulders and pours herself a drink anyways. Opening a can of Sprite, Jude fills the rest of her cup with the soda and takes a quick sip. She sighs in relief, feeling the liquid help to quench her thirst <i>and</i> keep her buzz going. </p>
<p>As soon as she brings the cup up to her lips for another drink, she hears Cardan’s voice in her ear. “Very sad how everyone left you all alone. Guess I’m not the only one who finds you repulsive.”</p>
<p>“You’re the one who came over to me, Greenbriar. I’m perfectly content to be by myself.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m not. Locke hasn’t come back yet and I need something to keep me entertained.” </p>
<p>“And that <i>something</i> won’t be me.” Jude pushes off the wall she’s leaning against and shakes her head.  </p>
<p>“C’mon, Duarte. Keep me company for a little while.” Cardan pouts and Jude can feel her resolve slipping. </p>
<p>Jude sighs and tilts her head as if this is the hardest choice she’s had to make. She thinks it’s the alcohol running through her veins that makes her settle back to her position against the wall. This time, she sits with her back leaning against the wall and her legs crossed, and Cardan follows suit. </p>
<p>“Do you want us to get stepped on?” Cardan’s knee rests on top of Jude’s, and neither of them move.</p>
<p>Staring at her fingers, Jude just takes another sip of her too-strong drink. “You didn’t have to follow me down here.”</p>
<p>“What else was I to do?”</p>
<p>“You’re the president of this fraternity and literally live in this house. I’m sure everyone is begging for the chance to talk to you, bigshot.” </p>
<p>Cardan looks Jude in the eyes. “I didn’t want to talk to them.”</p>
<p>The fact that he’s sitting on the floor of his fraternity house with her isn’t lost on Jude. Really, it’s not. But there’s something behind his words she doesn’t think she can get into tonight. Or any night. They’re supposed to be each other's nemesis, and nemesis don’t normally act this way towards each other. So Jude does what she’s good at and deflects. “They don’t pick fights with you like I do? What a shame, truly. It’s gotta be my best personality trait at this point,” she jokes. </p>
<p>“I don’t know about best, but maybe it’s your most prominent,” Cardan jokes back, smiling at her. It does something to Jude’s resolve, and she can feel herself wanting to never get up from their spot on the floor, regardless of how many people are stepping over them. </p>
<p>Jude uses the moment to push off the floor and attempt to head to the kitchen. She wants to see if either of her sisters are there before she says something to Cardan that she’d regret, but he follows closely behind her. At this point, her buzz is starting to come back, and when she’s not sober, being around Cardan can be kind of fun for her. Cardan moves in front of Jude and grabs her hand, pulling her towards the backyard. He leans down to reach her height and says, “I think I see Locke and Taryn outside.”</p>
<p>Jude can only nod her head. The only thought in her brain right now is the fact that Cardan is holding her hand. The Cardan she hates, the one who will take any excuse to argue with her, is holding her hand. She vaguely realizes that it was necessary to get her attention and he’s only helping her find their mutual friends, but she can’t stop thinking about how their hands fit together so well. Jude doesn’t even notice that they’ve made it outside until she’s hit with the cold air. She quickly slips her hand out of Cardan’s, keeping her gaze locked on the ground so he can’t read her face. There is no reason for Jude to be thinking about how their hands fit together, or how comforting it felt for <i>him</i> to be holding her hand, or how his skin is warm and his fingers are thin and long and the tip of them are calloused for reasons she kind of wants to know and she should not be thinking about any of this. But Jude can’t stop herself and her thoughts whirl and dance in her head like a newfound obsession. She doesn’t want him to let go.</p>
<p>Almost out of her earshot, Jude hears yelling, snapping her out of her trance. She looks to find the source of the screaming and finds Locke flailing his arms and raising his voice as if there’s nobody around him for miles. “What the fuck is your problem? Stay the fuck away from my girlfriend.” Locke is seething with anger, and with each word that comes out of his mouth, he’s getting closer to Taryn and Garrett. </p>
<p>Jude quickly runs over to Locke and steps in front of her twin as a gesture of protection. “Stop fucking yelling at her, asshole. Maybe if you calmed down and used your words instead of shouting like a fucking neanderthal you wouldn’t have drawn a crowd.” Jude gestures to the crowd that’s slowly growing in size around them, and she sees Cardan coming up behind Locke. </p>
<p>“Maybe if your sister wasn’t blatantly flirting with other guys in front of me, we wouldn’t have an issue.” Locke pointedly glares at Garrett. Garrett just shakes his head and backs away from Locke. </p>
<p>Taryn scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “Garrett, you mean the friend I’ve known since move-in day <i>freshman</i> year? The one you’ve met <i>multiple</i> times?” </p>
<p>“Nope, I’m sorry,” Jude interjects. “You don’t have to start a screaming match at a goddamn party to get your point across! We’re here to get drunk and have fun, not listen to you act like a possessive asshole,” Jude tells Locke, her voice getting louder on each word until she’s shouting at him by the end of her sentence. No matter what happens between them, she will always defend her sister.</p>
<p>“Stay out of this, Jude. This is between me and your sister.”</p>
<p>“You made it my business when you started yelling loud enough to be heard in China.” Jude takes a step forward and points a finger in Locke’s chest. The top of her head comes up to his chin, and even though she has to look up at him to make eye contact, she’s never been more furious with him, and it <i>shows</i>. Jude’s anger is loud, a rage that radiates off of her body in heat waves, and being on the receiving end of it has sent enough people to fill a soccer team to the nurse’s office. “I don’t care what your goddamn issue is with her, but tone it down. Now. Or I will hunt you down when you’re least expecting it, and trust me, you don’t want that.” </p>
<p>“Jude,” Taryn pulls on her sister’s arm in hopes that she’ll back down, “it’s okay. Seriously. Let’s just go, yeah? We can even get McDonald’s on the way home?” Jude ignores her. </p>
<p>“Watch your tone with me. You don’t want to start something you can’t finish, Duarte.” </p>
<p>“Bring it on, carrot-top. I’m not scared of you.” </p>
<p>Jude pushes her sleeves up and prepares to keep hurling verbal abuse at Locke, but before she even opens her mouth again, Cardan puts his hand on Locke’s arm and spins him away from him until the redhead is huffing in his head. “Locke, seriously, what is your fucking problem?” Locke’s jaw clenches, but he clearly knows better than to talk back to his president. Vindication pools in Jude’s belly and she doesn’t want to admit how good it feels to see Cardan take her side. “You need to calm the fuck down, dude. You’re being a fucking dick.” Jude’s heart beats louder. He <i>is</i> being a dick, and no matter how much Cardan hates her or how few close friends he has beside Locke, he’s taking <i>her</i> side. That means something to both of them. </p>
<p>“You don’t know what’s going on.” </p>
<p>Jude opens her mouth to reply something burning and whipping, but Cardan is once again faster than her. “And I don’t care. You’re causing a scene.” Cardan points to the crowd around them, and for the first time, both Jude and Locke notice the throng of people recording them. Jude smiles to herself, silently praising herself for not backing down from him. </p>
<p>Locke rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath about how <i>we’re not done with this Taryn</i>, but he lets Cardan pull him away from the set of twins. As Cardan and Locke enter the house through the sliding glass doors, Cardan looks over his shoulder and makes eye contact with Jude. She gives him a small smile, hoping he sees it as a sort of thank you, and not a confusing mix-match of feelings his hand and his words and the vodka she was still buzzing from brought. Jude doesn’t need anyone standing up for her, but she didn’t exactly mind someone standing beside her. He grins back at her and winks, sending a warmth course throughout Jude’s whole body. She shakes her head to rid her of the feeling and interlocks her arm through Taryn’s, smiling up at her twin. “Let’s get that McDonald’s now, yeah?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>once again, my many thanks to lottie for always being there &lt;3</p>
<p>follow me on twitter, @Iivrigos (but the L is an i. oops)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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